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Phil Spencer via IGN: "I believe we will sell more Kinects in the long run"

G

GalacticaN7

Banned
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/15/microsoft-believes-it-will-sell-more-kinects-in-the-long-run

Microsoft's head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, says that the company's new Kinect-less Xbox One will ultimately lead to more sales and a greater number of Kinects in gamers' homes.

"This might seem backwards, but I believe the decision we made to allow people to buy Xbox One without Kinect included, in the end, will actually lead to more Kinects in the market," he said, speaking with Polygon. "I believe that you've got to sell the console before you can sell Kinect."

The price drop to an "entry price" will attract more buyers, Spencer says. "We've got to be competitive with the Xbox One console, and then we're going to allow people to add Kinect later when they can. They can buy it standalone. If they want to buy it day one, I still think that's the best Xbox One experience over the long run, but giving them choice will let us grow the largest install base of Xbox One customers, and those who choose to, will actually add Kinect to it as well."
Click to expand...

He believes everyone is going to go out and buy the standalone Kinect now that they are giving you the console cheaper.



Bundle me to an Xbox if old
 
EGOMON

EGOMON

Member
jennifer-lawrence-10.gif
 
Rising_Hei

Rising_Hei

Member
If they still plan on Kinect to succeed they have learning nothing, imho.
More games on kinect also means less core games, see what happened with Rare.
 
C

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
GalacticaN7 said:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/15/microsoft-believes-it-will-sell-more-kinects-in-the-long-run



He believes everyone is going to go out and buy the standalone Kinect now that they are giving you the console cheaper.
Click to expand...

Not really. He believes that (the fraction of people who buy a Kinect * the number of people who will buy a cheaper, Kinect-free Xbox) will be larger than the number who would have bought the original, more expensive, Kinect-included Xbox.

I don't think he's crazy for saying that.
 
R

Rolf NB

Member
Chairman Yang said:
Not really. He believes that (the fraction of people who buy a Kinect * the number of people who will buy a cheaper, Kinect-free Xbox) will be larger than the number who would have bought the original, more expensive, Kinect-included Xbox.

I don't think he's crazy for saying that.
Click to expand...
I do.
 
P

Phrozenflame500

Member
Chairman Yang said:
Not really. He believes that (the fraction of people who buy a Kinect * the number of people who will buy a cheaper, Kinect-free Xbox) will be larger than the number who would have bought the original, more expensive, Kinect-included Xbox.

I don't think he's crazy for saying that.
Click to expand...

Shows how bad the original $500 plan was. Still don't think MS should back the Kinect as hard as it does it really is terrible for gaming.
 
C

CozMick

Banned
Does this guy ever shut up?

Its absurd the amount of bullshit he talks. Of course its gonna sell more, those that want it have to buy it. Smh.
 
H

HINN

Banned
I can see that. It's hard imagining someone using the one without the nect. Imo, the nect is the most next-genish part of current gen (both systems). I get annoyed when I visit someone else's house and they say here's the remote...using a remote is irritating after you've spent awhile using voice commands. There's no doubt 'them people' are spying on us daily through the nect, but it's hard not to become lax about your privacy. I wonder how many people have been arrested and their nect footage has been used as evidence against them? I'm convinced people are already being prosecuted cuz of the nect. That'll always be something that MS will have to combat, but there's nothing MS can do to stop the feds from spying on us.
 
K

Kevin

Member
Did they even show off any Kinect enabled games at E3 last week? Can't recall hearing about any major Kinect titles...
 
K

klodeckel

Banned
He believes everyone is going to go out and buy the standalone Kinect now that they are giving you the console cheaper.
Click to expand...
No, he doesn't.

Did they even show off any Kinnect enabled games at E3 last week?
Click to expand...
Fantasia: Music Evolved, Dance Central: Spotlight and Fru. Maybe there were more, but these three I know about.
 
K

Kuni

Member
Not until there's a wealth of great varied content. I don't believe the device, or the tech, is capable enough to deliver this.

Removing it was the best thing they did. Now they can move on and look at more fruitful endeavors.
 
T

Tobor

Member
Oh good, another thread where people show off their lack of basic math skills by agreeing with Phil.

I'll just post this again:

Tobor said:
Math, folks. Simple math.

Pretend for a moment that the Xbox One with Kinect included would have sold 50 million units lifetime with 100% attach rate.

In this new world, they sell 100 million units, double the original number and an unbelievable success! In order for Phil to be right, they'd have to get to an attach rate greater than 50%. That's unheard of and literally impossible.

Let's say they reach 25% attach rate, a still unbelievably high percentage. Now they need to sell 200 million units! The Xbox One is now the best selling console of all time by a large margin in our fantasy land!

Now let's talk about a reasonable attach rate. 10%. Microsoft would need to sell 500 million units. I don't need to elaborate on this one.
Click to expand...
 
N

Nickerbocker98

Banned
Isn't the PS4 Camera doing really well right now? It isn't crazy to think that there is a niche, but profitable audience who would spend a little extra money for the Kinect. I think it was crazy to not have the Kinectless SKU be an option right from the beginning, though.
 
KaiserBecks

KaiserBecks

Member
Regime said:
Yeah about that Phil...

Not going to happen.
Click to expand...

He's talking about the long run. If a kinectless Xbox One can gain momentum, some people will be interested in Kinect eventually. Right now there are few reasons to own one, that'll change over the years. It makes sense to give people options, it's just a shame they didn't realize that sooner.

Tobor said:
Oh good, another thread where people show off their lack of basic math skills by agreeing with Phil.

I'll just post this again:
Click to expand...

How come you picked "50 million" units? Do you think that's actually going to happen in the foreseeable future? That's where your "simple math" ignores the reality of Microsoft's problem.


Kevin said:
Did they even show off any Kinect enabled games at E3 last week? Can't recall hearing about any major Kinect titles...
Click to expand...

Spencer said he wanted people to see Kinect on the showfloor because it's "a challenge" to demo them properly during the conference. I don't know what was actually shown at their booth though.
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
There's nothing wrong with the statement. They however have to prove to people the Kinect is a device worth owning now that they've begun offering a SKU without it.
 
I

Iced_Eagle

Member
Kevin said:
Did they even show off any Kinect enabled games at E3 last week? Can't recall hearing about any major Kinect titles...
Click to expand...

Dance Central and Fantasia during the briefing and D4 on the show floor. There's also that neat indie platformer that uses Kinect that was shown during the briefing.
 
G

GalacticaN7

Banned
Tigress said:
Isn't there already a thread on here somewhere about this? I believe it's from weeks ago too.
Click to expand...

IGN posted the article yesterday. I saw it in their header and thought it was new. Did a quick search and didn't see it on here. If I could lock it I would. :(
 
C

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
Tobor said:
Oh good, another thread where people show off their lack of basic math skills by agreeing with Phil.

I'll just post this again:
Click to expand...
There's no issue with people's math skills. They've just gone with different assumptions than you have.

I personally doubt the XB1 would have gotten to 50 million sales without the Kinectless SKU. I mean, Wikipedia tells me that the 3DS hasn't even reached close to that. With the disproportionate importance of early sales, the wrong moves could have ensured the Xbone was a disaster for MS.

As it is, the Xbone might still end up as a disaster. But the prospect of getting a userbase many, many times larger than the $500 model would've garnered isn't crazy.
 
D

Delusibeta

Banned
Chairman Yang said:
There's no issue with people's math skills. They've just gone with different assumptions than you have.

I personally doubt the XB1 would have gotten to 50 million sales without the Kinectless SKU. I mean, Wikipedia tells me that the 3DS hasn't even reached close to that. With the disproportionate importance of early sales, the wrong moves could have ensured the Xbone was a disaster for MS.

As it is, the Xbone might still end up as a disaster. But the prospect of getting a userbase many, many times larger than the $500 model would've garnered isn't crazy.
Click to expand...

That's kinda the problem, and I suspect that NPDs will show that getting rid of the Kinect won't be a silver bullet that solves all of Microsoft's problems.

Doesn't make Phil's statement any less daft, and any of the folks defending it any less silly-looking.
 
T

Tobor

Member
KaiserBecks said:
He's talking about the long run. If a kinectless Xbox One can gain momentum, some people will be interested in Kinect eventually. Right now there are few reasons to own one, that'll change over the years. It makes sense to give people options, it's just a shame they didn't realize that sooner.



How come you picked "50 million" units? Do you think that's actually going to happen in the foreseeable future? That's where your "simple math" ignores the reality of Microsoft's problem.
Click to expand...

Chairman Yang said:
There's no issue with people's math skills. They've just gone with different assumptions than you have.

I personally doubt the XB1 would have gotten to 50 million sales without the Kinectless SKU. I mean, Wikipedia tells me that the 3DS hasn't even reached close to that. With the disproportionate importance of early sales, the wrong moves could have ensured the Xbone was a disaster for MS.

As it is, the Xbone might still end up as a disaster. But the prospect of getting a userbase many, many times larger than the $500 model would've garnered isn't crazy.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter what number you pick as the starting point. The percentages are the same. In order for Phil to be right, the Kinect will have to have an impossibly high attach rate, or the Kinectless Xbox will have to sell an impossibly high amount of units.

Either way, it's impossible.
 
KaiserBecks

KaiserBecks

Member
Tobor said:
It doesn't matter what number you pick as the starting point. The percentages are the same. In order for Phil to be right, the Kinect will have to have an impossibly high attach rate, or the Kinectless Xbox will have to sell an impossibly high amount of units.

Either way, it's impossible.
Click to expand...


You are calling others out on their lack of basic math skills, yet base your example on an assumption that has nothing to do with reality. Just to prove that what Spencer is saying sounds "impossible". Good for you.
 
T

Tobor

Member
KaiserBecks said:
You are calling others out on their lack of basic math skills, yet base your example on an assumption that has nothing to do with reality. Just to prove that what Spencer is saying sounds "impossible". Good for you.
Click to expand...

Pick the number you think the Xbox would have sold with Kinect included and do the math. Prove me wrong. You can't, because it doesn't matter what the starting number is. It's a ridiculous premise.
 
T

timlot

Banned
Being able to say "Xbox on" and watch it turn on your tv , sat/cable box, and A/V receiver is enough for me. It has it issues, but there really isn't anything else out there like. You can navigate the entire UI, and most apps with it. "Xbox watch ESPN", I don't know I like it.
 
N

Nzyme32

Member
He's probably right only if MS can bring a game to the xbox one that genuinely uses it in a meaningful way. Or they make it a compulsory requirement for a highly acclaimed first party game... or they go on an all out kinect game spree at some point with a bunch of party games and such as with kinect 1
 
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